Face the Strange’s posters feature smartly-dressed figures with pieces of fruit, or other bizarre items, instead of a head.

The artist’s creations are stuck on walls across Derby and have gained a modest following on social media.

It’s the kind of thing you may have noticed without really registering it.

Locations where you might find examples of the artist's work are St Mary’s Gate, Canal Street and the Morledge.

We have tracked him down and discovered more about the anonymous figure behind the posters...

Q. When did you first start putting these posters up in Derby? Where was that first one, and what did it look like?

My initial pastes went up Derby, and then in other cities, a little over two years ago – although I'd been putting smaller stickers up for a while before that.

I went out that night with a clutch of designs, but it was a group of three suited peppers on a plain white background which was the very first to hit the streets.

Q. Do you believe what you do is in any way wrong, or an act of vandalism?

To the letter of the law? I'm sure it probably classes as littering or some other sort of no-no, but people seem happier to see my stuff going up than yet more adverts for things we don't need. So I suppose I consider it something of a public service, particularly in cities such as Derby which doesn't have much else to liven up the streets.

This example of Face The Strange's work was found in Canal Street, Derby. (Image: George Allen)

Q. Why do you do something anonymous that you will never get the credit for?

I'd been seeing other people's work in other cities for years and even, to a very limited extent, in Derby itself, and it always made me want to pause for a second to admire it properly. I didn't necessarily understand it or have any clue who it was by, but that often added to the appeal.

There was a long graduation period but, ultimately, I realised that I wanted to pop my own particular recipe up on the streets to make people stop, stare, wonder, and maybe even smile at something they unexpectedly came across.

And yes, while it may be an anonymous occupation I do enjoy the feedback that I receive via social media (or even the occasional secondhand or overheard comment).

Besides which, the social media side of things has also put me in contact with fans and like-minded people around the globe, so it really doesn't feel all that anonymous to me.

Face The Strange says their work, like this in Irongate, is partly inspired by comedy duo Reeves and Mortimer. (Image: George Allen)

Q. Why did you choose the slogan Face The Strange? What does it mean to you?

I never really so much chose that 'slogan' as it chose me. When I started out then this was just one of two – and I intended more – but this was just such a perfect fit. What started as a mere pseudonym became equal part alter-ego and also an actual message.

A lot of people quite naturally associate the phrase with Bowie, but I took it from the lyrics of a song by a band called Therapy? "Turn and face the strange/ turn and face yourself".

Everyone else may look strange to us, as we may do to them. Hell, many of us may even be little strange, but we're all people and we all have to breathe the same air. It's about tolerance & acceptance – whether you happen to be an aubergine, a pigeon, a kumquat or a seahorse.

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Q. I've also seen one with the slogan Date The Strange. Was that inspired by an experience, or else why did you choose it?

Well spotted, there's not too many of those gone up. No great tale attached to those variants, it just seemed like a suitable play on words for that series of designs. Really it just goes back to my previous answer, with people being overly concerned with the superficial.

Q. Your designs are quite striking, but many people walk past them without noticing. What effect do you want them to have on people?

That's a funny one, as people – even when not permanently embedded in their phones – can often be quite oblivious and even when you do become more attuned to such things, it can be hard to differentiate them from commercial advertising such as gig posters and such.

If I simply hear that I made someone smile on their commute to work then that's enough for me.

We found this Face The Strange in Derby's Cornmarket. (Image: Victoria Wilcox)

Q. Why did you choose the fruit heads design? I find it both fun and slightly disturbing.

You know what? I am always so chuffed when people tell me they find my images a little distressing, as they were never intended to be these comedy cartoon characters.

Everyone has influences, and the most pronounced for me were the original 1950s film The Fly, and the 90s Smell of Reeves and Mortimer series which riffed on the key visual from that film with a series of spoof adverts, each showing a man having large fruit or veg in the place of a head. It was twisted, a wee bit sinister and quite brilliant.

I'd had it rattling around in my brain for years and that became the starting point for my work. I'm sure that, one day, I'll be hearing from their lawyers!

Q. How do you create your designs, what tools do you use? Is it a computer drawing?

It's a sort of... well, I tend to call it 'digital collage'. I scour the internet for the best suitable images and then spend far too long spinning them around in my Corel Photopaint blender.

This Face The Strange was pictured on St Werburgh's church in Derby. (Image: Victoria Wilcox)

Q. Have you had any formal training, or otherwise where did you learn your artistic skill?

I've had no formal training and balk at the idea that I may possess any such "skill". There's tons of folks out there that can do this kind of stuff a hundred times better than me, but there are just not so many that openly put it on display for all to see.

Q. When and how do you put your posters up, is it in the dead of night?

The "how" is not terribly interesting but, yes, when I paste in Derby then it's always when the streets are a bit quieter.

Q. How many posters do you have up in Derby? Can you list the places we will find them?

Ha, well that's a tricky one, as it fluctuates by the day. There used to be some great collections of (mine and others') work on Thorntree Lane - the alley between Tesco and Farmfoods - and also on Becket Street, but both have recently come 'unstuck' as it were.

But when I last checked there were still some good condition examples of my craft at the top of Iron Gate, on the old Hippodrome and on the back of Willows.